Act 5 Scene 1 - Lady Macbeth

Character Report

No matter how big or small the part, every actor needs to know the answers to the following questions for his/her character. Answer the following questions for the character(s) you will play.

• What does your character want in this scene (this is the objective)?
  • In this scene, Lady Macbeth wants to get out of the pain and regret she feels from all the murdering she and Macbeth have done to earn power.
• What is your character’s motivation for doing what he or she does?
  • My character's motivation for sleepwalking is the fact that she feels guilty and the fear of Banquo's blood.
• What obstacles stand in his or her way?
  • She wants to forget what she has done, and she wants to be free from the guilt and pain, but what's done cannot be undone just like she says, so she cannot feel better.
• What happens when your character confronts these obstacles?
  • My character, Lady Macbeth, washes her hands in her sleep when she realizes that the murders cannot be undone because she hopes to feel a little more innocent.
• Are there any distinctive elements in your character’s way of speaking? (Is his or her language elaborate, plain, musical, or what?)
  • Her speaking tone is very remorseful and gloomy. She seems scared when she talks about the dead people. She also seems to keep telling herself that everything will be okay, which shows that she is scared of something she has done.
• What is your character thinking during the scene (this is the subtext)? (How does he or she react to the other characters and events?)
  • My character is speaking in her sleep, so she does not talk with others. Also, what she says is the subtext itself. She truly fears the murders she and her husband committed in the past, and hopes to be free from the heavy guilt she feels by what she has done.

---

Scene Analysis

What happens in your scene? Outline the basic events.

• In my scene, which is Act 5 Scene 1, basically the doctor and gentlewoman are discussing about Lady Macbeth's conditions. She has developed a condition of sleepwalking, and the doctor is there to observe what Lady Macbeth does in her sleep as well as find the cause of her condition. Lady Macbeth says several significant lines that show her inner side, and the doctor is shocked by what he sees in this scene.

What do you think are the key purpose of your scene? In other words, why is this scene important? (Keep these purposes in mind as you make decisions about blocking and characterization.)

• I think the key purpose of my scene is to show that Lady Macbeth is actually weaker than she was thought to be. In previous scenes, she has shown evidence of her strong heart, such as when she put back the daggers in the murder scene instead of Macbeth and when she encouraged her husband. However, in this scene, Lady Macbeth's lines show that she also has been worrying for a very long time and that she actually feels very guilty for what she has done to Duncan and Macduff's wife and children. This scene shows that Lady Macbeth has changed from the beginning of the play, and shows the mental effects of murdering a person.

What are your reactions to this scene?

• I feel that this scene is very crucial to the play. Lady Macbeth, who is a significant character in Macbeth, has been known as a cruel and cold-hearted person prior to this scene. However, after seeing what happened to her mind, I was very surprised and shocked by how murdering could change that person so much. The doctor says that this cannot be cured with his abilities, and I was also shocked then. Her conditions were beyond abilities of physicians. This shows how badly the murdering has affected her physical and mental health.

---

Scene Performance Reflection

1. Evaluate the performance of your group. What went well? What didn’t go well?

• When our group performed scene 5 act 1 of the play Macbeth, we did well on not messing up our lines. When we practiced, we often accidentally read our teammate's lines but during the real performance we did a good job on reading our own lines. However, I think we were not able to show our faces fully to the audience due to the need to read the script.

2. How well did you contribute to your group?

• I contributed to my group pretty well by preparing my own costume and props as well as sharing some ideas for the movement of characters on stage. I also provided some ideas for how my character would act like in the performance.

3. How well did you perform as an individual?

• As an individual, I think I did not perform well enough to show the audience my character's emotions thoroughly. I think I was bad at the acting part. However, I tried my best to show my character.

4. What could have improved your scene performance?

• If we did not look at the script and looked at the audience more, our scene performance would have been better.

5. How did the scene performance help you better understand the play.

• The scene performance helped me better understand the play by letting me think and act in one of the character's shoes. By acting, I could understand my character better and by setting up the characters' positions and movements on stage, I could better depict how the scene would have been in my head. This gave me a better sense of who was talking to whom. Also by understanding the characters better, the story of the play made more sense to me.